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Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Highlights—Mixing it Up in the Neuquén Basin

High-resolution
sequence stratigraphy can be challenging, but mixed carbonate-siliciclastic
systems offer unique challenges, but at times unique insights as well.In this paper, Schwartz et al. document
outcrop and subsurface data from a Cretaceous proximal to distal transect of
the Neuquén Basin of western Argentina, exploring controls on high-resolution
stratal patterns. The results suggest transgressive carbonate hemicycles,
overlain by storm- and wave-influenced siliciclastic shoreface deposits during
regressions. The data suggest that autogenic or eustatic controls did not
control facies patterns; rather changes in sediment supply related to more
arid–more humid shifts are interpreted to control the patterns in these
strata.These results emphasize the
potentially important role of climate shifts on stratigraphy, and highlights
its potential use for correlation.